Rev. Andrew J. Gans    Email   andy@fortking.org

My name is Andrew Joseph Gans but I go by Andy. I was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1965 and I was the youngest of three children but my brother and sister were adopted. My father was an executive in the metals business and my mother was a stay at home mom. As a child I lived in Chicago, Richmond, and Baltimore. The main portion of my childhood was in Baltimore. I went to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas for undergraduate school, and graduated in 1989.  While at SMU I was an equipment manger for the athletic department and primarily worked with the once well known, and nationally ranked, football team. I also was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon national fraternity and I held the offices of Scholarship chair, Brotherhood Development Chair, and Chaplain. I began my career in Chattanooga, Tennessee as a videographer for an NBC television station. I met my wife Cheryl while in Chattanooga and soon after we got married we moved to Durham, North Carolina where I began working for an ABC station. Cheryl began working for a Girl Scout camp and going to graduate school at UNC. After Cheryl finished graduate school she was offered a job in Delaware and we relocated.

While in Delaware I began my fulltime ministry. I began working with St. Mark’s UMC as their Director of Children’s, Youth, and Young Adult Ministries. We spent two and a half years in Delaware before moving to Conyers, Georgia to take the position of Director of Children’s and Youth Ministries at Smyrna Presbyterian Church. I became very active in the community, especially with youth and families following the shooting at Heritage High School. My ministry continued when I was called to Roswell Presbyterian to become their Director of Youth Ministries. In 2000 I began my seminary career at Columbia Theological Seminary on a part time basis. I soon realized that it was very difficult to be a full-time youth director and a part-time student.  I resigned my position at Roswell and began full time work at Columbia. I completed my Master of Divinity in 2004 and I was ordained to my position as Program Director at Central Presbyterian Outreach Center. Central was an outreach ministry to people experiencing homelessness. Each day we would serve over 130 people as we tried to meet their basic needs. In September of 2007 I left Central to focus more on getting homeless individuals employed. I joined the staff of Samaritan House of Atlanta where I became the employment trainer and employment counselor.

            Cheryl and I have two beautiful daughters, Catherine Virginia age 10 and Ashley McCallie age 8. Catey and Ashley love soccer, choir, and theater. Cheryl has a wonderful mother and father in Athens, TN.; my mother died in 1988 and my father passed in 1984.

My hobbies are photography, coaching soccer, and playing with my girls.

  Andy and his Family (Wife Cheryl, Daughters)